Farmers Market Lunch Date

Lunch Date

On a beautiful August morning, I suggested to Kristy that we go out for lunch. "I was considering the farmers market with maybe a nice long walk afterward," I offered.

"Sounds good! Which one do you have in mind?" she asked.

"How about the one in Slatington, Pennsylvania?"

Flight from the Empty Nest

Date	Aircraft	Route of Flight	Time (hrs)	Total (hrs)
31 Aug 2025	N21481	SDC (Sodus, NY) - 69N (Slatington, PA) - 22N (Lehighton, PA) - SDC	3.8	3037.3

Two days prior, we dropped The Bear off in Massachusetts to start the first semester of her college adventure. It meant the end of Saturday rehearsals with the Hochstein Youth Symphony Orchestra in downtown Rochester and Sunday morning oboe lessons at The Harley School. Our weekend schedule was suddenly much more open to impromptu trips together than it had been in a long time.

Mother Nature served up a glorious late summer day for us to fly to Pennsylvania. It was Kristy's first flight in Warrior 481 since May when we joined the Williamson Flying Club for dinner at the Runway Bar & Grill in Bradford, PA. But the trip to Slatington was just for the two of us.

This was my second visit to Slatington (69N). The airport lies on the outer northwest quadrant of Allentown's Charlie airspace and is immediately south of the Lehigh Gap where the eponymous river breaches the 150 mile long Kittatinny Ridge, also known as Blue Mountain. While this terrain complicates locating and approaching the airport, the distinctive Lehigh Gap is visible from miles away and at least serves to pinpoint the airport's location. The field is immediately east of the Lehigh Tunnel bored through Blue Mountain to pass highway traffic on I-476.

Down in a Hole

"Slatington is kind of in a hole," I warned Kristy as we descended over the ridgeline on approach to the airport. Tucked in a bend of the Lehigh River, the airport sits close to river elevation with valley walls rising on either side. On the west side of the airport, the town of Slatington overlooks the airport from a higher elevation, making the standard pattern altitude of 1,000 feet above the runway seem inadequately low, particularly near the downwind to base turn for left traffic on runway 1.

Slatington Airport.

After clearing the ridgeline, we spiraled down to pattern altitude west of the field and entered the pattern for runway 1.

Final approach, runway 1, Slatington.

On final for runway 1, tracking parallel to the Lehigh River, the ridge makes for an impressive wall one mile north of the runway. It was very likely one of the more challenging airports I have ever negotiated with Kristy on board. In fact, due to the unforgiving terrain, the airport is closed to transients at night.

After landing, we parked on the grass and briefly explored the small, privately owned airport.

On the north side of the field, several T-hangar buildings form tidy rows parallel to the ridge.

We were not alone at Slatington with aircraft periodically coming and going. Across the runway, a Decathlon was parked in an area often used for pilot camping. We met the pilot and his wife briefly when they stopped to ask us about the winds aloft. With strong winds out of the north, it does not take much imagination to realize that a powerful downdraft from that ridge would hinder climbout from runway 1.

Lunchtime!

The Slatington Farmers Market is immediately adjacent to the airport in the repurposed Keystone Lamp factory.

Colorful murals greet those who enter. The facility is part farmers market, part craft fair, and part food court. Obviously, we were there for the food court aspect.

Uncle Jay's BBQ was quiet inside because they were actively cooking and serving outside on a back patio.  As we explored the market, we encountered someone from the airport who mistook us for the couple with the Decathlon camping on the east side. It was an easy mistake; I was wearing a shirt with an airplane on it.

We made our way to True Blue Mediterranean for lunch.

I had the basmati chicken meal, which was excellent and a lot of food. I was glad that we agreed to a long walk afterward.

Where Iron Horses Once Trod

After lunch, we walked four miles on the D&L Trail created in the former railbed of the Lehigh Valley Railroad line between Wilkes-Barre and Bristol, PA. This trail runs along the west edge of the airport and parallels the Lehigh River. The first time I walked this trail I went north, so this time, we went south.

Our trek was mostly through wilderness, though the trail runs through a portion of Slatington just south of the airport. This building proclaiming Slatington as a "trail friendly community" appeared to have been a former railroad depot.

Not all of the track was removed in converting the rail line into the D&L trail. In some places, steel rails still run parallel to the trail. Given the tree growth, no trains had run on that rail for a number of years.

This distorted tree trunk looked like an elephant's foot to me.

We encountered multiple examples of abandoned infrastructure slowly being absorbed by nature.

In this case, concrete stanchions from a long abandoned railroad bridge still march across the Lehigh River in a perfect diagonal line. Referred to locally as the Poughkeepsie Railroad Bridge, the bridge that these supports carried over the river was abandoned in 1934.

After a pleasant 4 mile round trip walk, we returned to the Slatington Airport.

Pedal Power Courtesy of the Experimental Aircraft Association

Leaning into the relationship between flying and cycling established by the Wright brothers, the local EAA chapter maintains a small locked shed with bicycles for use on the D&L Trail. The combination padlock presents a puzzle that any pilot can solve easily.

The collection was well maintained and included tools, loaner helmets, and even a pull behind trailer for kiddos. I have never seen a setup quite like this before. Kudos to the EAA!

The last time I departed Slatington, I did not take the departure seriously enough and struggled to outclimb the terrain; not just the obvious ridge off the end of the runway, but also the borders of the river valley flanking the airport.

Lined up on the runway with a not-so-subtle visual reminder of the ridge ahead, I briefed Kristy on what short field take offs look like. This time, the Warrior had no problem climbing sufficiently for a left turnout from the river valley surrounding the airport. We made a quick hop over Blue Mountain to the Jake Arner Memorial Airport (22N, #291) in the next valley to the north for fuel at $5.44/gallon. From there, we launched again and enjoyed a thoroughly pleasant flight home from our low stress flying lunch date, delighting in spending time together.

Epilogue: Empty Nesters

August 28, 2025 at college drop-off. Photo by V (the roommate).

Less than 48 hours before our Slatington flight, we hugged The Bear during a reception at the college President's house, then drove back to Rochester without her. We have both been asked by friends and colleagues how we are doing now that our household is down to just the two of us (and the 23 year old cat, who has somehow managed to outlive The Bear's full time residency in the house).

Truthfully, we're OK. The Bear is at a great school that suits her well. In the weeks since drop-off, she has thrived; advocating for herself with faculty to build a good schedule, making friends, joining clubs, succeeding in her classes. She and her roommate get along wonderfully. The Bear even raves about the dining hall cuisine. She calls and texts often to share news and stories, but without any evidence of homesickness. We would both feel differently if we thought The Bear was struggling at college, but all indications are that she has found her place. We're incredibly proud of her and certainly miss her, but we're OK. Moreover, we are excited about the opportunities in front of her.